This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content here are presented solely by the author, and The Times of Israel assumes no responsibility for them. In case of abuse, report this post.

The Obama administration’s betrayal of Jews, women, and Gay people throughout the Middle East

Blogger

Mike Lumish
Mike Lumish is a PhD in American history from the Pennsylvania State University and has taught at PSU, San Francisco
… [More]State University, and the City College of San Francisco. He regularly publishes on the Arab-Israel conflict at the Times of Israel and at his own blog, Israel Thrives (http://israel-thrives.blogspot.com/). He has in recent years given conference papers on American cultural and intellectual history at The International Society for the History of Behavioral and Social Sciences in Dublin, Ireland, as well as at the Western Historical Association in Phoenix, Arizona and the American Cultural Association in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lumish is also the founding editor of the scholarly on-line discussion forum H-1960s. He can be contacted at mike.lumish@gmail.com. [Less]

A consignment of F-16 jet fighters to Cairo from Washington during the next few weeks has stirred up yet another hornet’s nest in Egypt’s fraught political atmosphere. In the opinion of many observers, the controversy over the deal is a thoroughly political one, as the additional fighter planes will do little to alter strategic balances of power in the region. It is unlikely that similar arms deals during the Mubarak era would have aroused such an altercation. The new factor, of course, is the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power, which has worried political circles in both capitals.

One of the questions that we are asking ourselves at Israel Thrives is just why it is that the Obama administration is such a supporter of political Islam? Given the fact of 9/11 and the fact that political Islam supports the oppression of women, the outright murder of Gay people, the persecution of non-Muslims, and the genocide of the Jews, one would think that the leader of what used to be called “the free world” would strenuously and vocally oppose such a widespread and growing political movement.

This is not the case with the Obama administration.

On the contrary. Barack Obama has on a number of occasions expressed his overt sympathy for the so-called “Arab Spring” which is the rise of political Islam throughout the Middle East. The Obama administration is giving Islamists of the type that destroyed the World Trade Center modern American-made weaponry.

The question is, why?

Perhaps the clearest difference of opinion on Israel Thrives is between myself and our friend Randall Kohn of ProSemiteUndercover. Randall thinks that Obama supports political Islam because he is, himself, an Islamist. Because Obama believes in the tenets of their faith he thereby supports their movement. What I think is that Obama believes that the United States, and the west more generally, is guilty of white western colonial-imperialism and a form of savage racism that has resulted in the impoverishment of the so-called “third world.” What I would say is that it is the academic influence of people like Rashid Khalid and Edward Said that best explain Obama’s support for political Islam.

In truth, however, it hardly matters.

The bottom line is that this administration, along with the progressive-left and significant portions of the Democratic party, have no problem with an Iran with nuclear weaponry or the rise of political Islam throughout the Muslim world. That’s all that really matters. Randall and I can disagree about just how it is that the current US administration is “in the bag” for political Islam (or “radical Islam” or “Islamism”) but we both agree that, whatever the reason, the Obama administration supports that movement.

There is, it should be noted, nothing the least little bit liberal about such support. No one who considers themselves liberal could ever support the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam because that organization and that movement are as old-timey conservative as can possibly be.

The Muslim Brotherhood take over of Egypt is the political equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan taking over the United States government via electoral means. No actual liberal would ever support such a thing and the people who call themselves “liberal” while speaking in favor of Obama’s foreign policy are deluding themselves.

What we are witnessing is nothing less than the fundamental transformation of American foreign policy under the Obama administration. When it comes to foreign policy the American political right is going liberal while the American political left is going conservative. In today’s world the American political right is trending toward women’s rights, the rights of Gay people, and the rights of non-Muslims, including Jews, for freedom under notions of “universal human rights.”

The left, in contrast, sadly, has caved to political Islam under the mulitcultural ideal.

It is the unspoken tension between universal human rights and the multicultural ideal that defines American foreign policy under the Obama administration and the multicultural ideal has won the day… to the detriment of us all.

To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

By signing up, you agree to our
terms
You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.